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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The number of deaths from drenching rains in San Antonio rose to 11 people on Friday and crews searched for others still missing a day after fast-rising floodwaters tossed and swept away more than a dozen cars into a creek.

Search teams combed low-water crossings a day after Thursday's downpour that dumped more than 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain in a span of hours in parts of the nation's seventh-largest city. Some people climbed up trees to escape rapidly rising waters and authorities said firefighters made more than 70 rescues across San Antonio.

Many of the rescues involved pulling people from stalled cars. At least 10 people were rescued from bushes and trees about a mile away from where their vehicles sunk, the San Antonio Fire Department said in a statement.

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Deaths in San Antonio rise to 11 and some are still missing after heavy storms, officials say

Vehicles sit in the river after being swept away by floodwaters in San Antonio, Tx., Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)

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Rescue crews were still searching for missing people as the flooding subsided, San Antonio Fire Department spokesperson Joe Arrington said. It was unclear how many were missing Friday evening.

"Our hearts are with the families of those we've lost to this week's flash floods and the families who continue searching for their loved ones," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.

Three of the 11 confirmed dead were between 28 to 55 years old, according to a news release from the Bexar County Medical Examiner's office.

The search for the missing was focused on Beitel Creek where more than a dozen cars were found stuck or overturned, San Antonio officials said. Search dogs were also brought in Thursday to help find missing people, they said.

Among the missing was Stevie Richards, 42, the San Antonio Express-News reported. His wife, Angel, said she was on the phone with him when his car was swept away shortly before sunrise.

"As I was talking to him, he said, 'Oh, the car's floating'… It wasn't even a whole minute later that I could hear it hitting up against something, him screaming and cussing, and I could hear the water take the phone. It happened really, really fast," she told newspaper.

Those confirmed dead includes people found beyond the creek and throughout the county, said Monica Ramos, a spokesperson for the Bexar County Medical Examiner's office.

Five people have been found dead and two others are missing in San Antonio, Texas, after heavy rains caused flooding on highways throughout the city, authorities said Thursday.

Heavy overnight rains led to water rescue calls just after 5 a.m. in northeastern San Antonio, near the city's Perrin Beitel neighborhood.

The San Antonio Fire Department confirmed in a news release that five people were confirmed dead and two were unaccounted for. Two men and two women were among those found dead, according to CBS affiliate KENS-TV. There were no further details about the fifth victim.

The identities of the victims have yet to be released, but one of the victims was identified as a 77-year-old woman, according to KENS.

The fire department believes that those rescued or located were initially in their cars sitting in traffic, but by the time emergency crews arrived, they had ended up in trees due to water flooding their vehicles.

Fifteen cars were washed away, and 10 people were rescued, according to the fire department, which said it responded to at least 70 water rescues Thursday. Of the 10 rescued, four were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.

The fire department called the response an "extremely difficult rescue effort that covered multiple miles."

The search is ongoing for the two people who are believed to have been swept away in the floodwaters, the agency said.

"While the majority of the water rescue responses were not severe in nature and consisted of our crews assisting drivers from vehicles that were stalled in high water, several of these calls were harrowing and involved our crews entering swift moving water to effect rescues," the fire department said in its release.

One woman, Angel Richards, told KENS 5 that her husband, Stevie, was on his way to work when he called to say he was caught in the floodwaters.

"It's hard because I was on the phone when this happened, and then not to have a lot of communication, to see my car, it's devastating to me," Richards told KENS 5. "No one can say to me, 'Hey, this is what's going on.'"

Kierra Frazier

Kierra Frazier is a news editor for CBS News & Stations.

San Antonio leaders demand answers following deadly flooding as infrastructure concerns grow.

SAN ANTONIO — As San Antonio mourns the lives lost in this week’s deadly flooding, city and county leaders are demanding answers. Was it simply too much rain in too short a time—or are deeper issues with infrastructure and flood control to blame?

Officials say it’s still unclear whether the tragedy was solely the result of the storm or if something manmade failed.

“I have never seen the water like an ocean. The dumpster moved like a toy,” said Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert, describing the force of the floodwaters. "I knew some bad things were likely to happen. I grew up in that area."

15 vehicles were swept down Beitel Creek, near the access road of Loop 410 West and Perrin Beitel. Some were carried the length of seven football fields before coming to rest.

“Right now, they believe it was just a lot of rain in one part,” Calvert said.

In just three hours, the National Weather Service reports 5 to 7 inches of rain fell in the basin—an amount too great for most urban drainage systems to manage.

But San Antonio City Councilman Marc Whyte, who represents the area, said aging infrastructure likely played a role.

“Our city's infrastructure is aging. It's old already, but it's getting worse,” Whyte said. “We've got broken pipes, we have streets that need repair, we have drainage issues. That's where we need to be putting our money.”

Whyte added that 22% of the roads in the area are in poor or failing condition. He believes flood mitigation and road improvements need to become a top priority.

"If it's something the city can do better, we're certainly going to look into it," Whyte added. "We are heart-struck by what happened and we'll do everything we can to help the families in need."

Calvert noted that the county had already invested $500 million into flood mitigation projects in the region since the 1998 flood, which had not resulted in loss of life—until now.

“From the flood of 1998, we hadn't had any loss of life on all those flood control projects,” Calvert said. “That area had a flood control project the county had done.”

Still, Calvert said more analysis is needed. He raised concerns about overgrown vegetation, construction debris, and the replacement of green space with concrete—all of which he believes may have contributed to the tragedy and must be investigated.

“We have to consider, potentially with climate change, whether or not a 100-year flood plan is enough,” he said.

City officials say of the 141 monitored low-water crossings, at least 15 sites show potential structural damage following the storm. Crossings at Vicar Drive at Beitel Creek and Old O’Connor Road are among those with significant damage and will remain closed pending full assessments.

As the investigation continues, both city and county leaders say the goal is not just to understand what happened—but to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

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The Texas Supreme Court has sided with the City of San Antonio in a dispute involving a Native American church that worships at Brackenridge Park.

The case centers on the Lipan- Apache Native American Church, who consider a portion of Brackenridge Park a sacred place. The city’s planned improvements to the area included removing trees and bird habitat. The city has halted work where the ceremonies are held.

It began with a bond issue San Antonio voters approved in 2017. The bond included funds to refurbish part of the park, including renovating the old pump house and the elimination of some trees.?

The trees are the nesting spaces of the large white cormorants in the Lambert Beach area, near the Brackenridge Conservancy’s headquarters building. Hundreds of the migratory birds nest there each year. The large, fetid mess they leave on the ground under them is considered a health hazard, particularly for children.?

In its ruling the Texas Supreme Court said the Texas Constitution’s provisions do not extend to governmental actions for the preservation and management of public lands.

Gary Perez, a member of the Lipan-Apache Native American Church, said that “We are going to continue to pray for the best to keep the trees there, our spiritual ecology, the trees, the birds. We'll just continue to pray all the way through and hope that God will intervene and soften some hearts."

The San Antonio City Attorney’s Office also responded to the decision: “The City of San Antonio is pleased with the Texas Supreme Court’s decision and appreciates the clarity it provides regarding the scope of the Religious Services Clause. This ruling affirms the City’s ability to responsibly preserve and manage public lands — including the voter-approved 2017 bond project to improve Brackenridge Park — while continuing to respect and accommodate religious practices. We are hopeful that work can begin soon on the long-delayed, voter-approved improvements to Brackenridge Park.”

Perez said the case will now move back to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Less than 40 minutes before the show was set to kick off, thousands of fans waiting in line heard the news it had been postponed to an unknown date.

SAN ANTONIO — Shakira fans waiting to be let inside the Alamodome for Friday's concert headlined by the Colombian superstar instead received news that the show won't go on as planned. A spokesperson for the city said about 47,000 fans had bought tickets.

The Alamodome shared the update on its Facebook page shortly before 7 p.m., less than 40 minutes before the highly anticipated show was set to begin. Venue officials chalked the development up to "structural issues" with Shakira's stage.

"All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new date once announced," the Facebook post read. "More information will be emailed to ticketholders directly when available."

Shakira's team provided further details on the musician's official Facebook page, saying they rely on "a third party who locally provides the infrastructure to support the stage and the ceiling from which my production hangs." The post adds that the issue in question was related to a truss provided by that third party.

A photo accompanying the message appeared to show a broken metal support beam.

Posted by Shakira on Friday, June 13, 2025

The post by the singer's team goes on to say they hired "a new group of engineers" after similar issues ahead of a May 29 concert in Boston. That was one of six U.S. shows on Shakira's "Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran Tour" that have so far been cancelled.

"After a detailed review, the company experts and engineers personally promised me that they had reinforced the structure and they guaranteed me 100% the safety and reliability of the show going forward," the post reads. "To not be able to perform for you tonight deeply affects me and my fans in San Antonio. I am here, devasted and heartbroken."

Shakira is scheduled to perform Sunday in Houston; that concert had also been rescheduled from a previous date.

Friday's update was met with frustration by fans, with one fan saying about the late announcement: "You had more than enough time to tell us, instead of 30 min before!!"

"40 minutes before the concert and we're just finding out?! That's not acceptable!" wrote another fan.

Credit: AP Photo/Bruna PradoAP

The Alamodome was charging $60 for parking at its lots for the show. Richard Oliver, a spokesperson with the City of San Antonio, said those who paid with a credit card will be reimbursed in the next few days. If they notice they haven't been refunded by Tuesday, they should call the Alamodome.

Multiple fans waiting in line said they still found themselves outside in the summer heat long after 5:30 p.m., when doors were scheduled to open. Oliver said Alamodome staff started notifying them about the postponement as soon as they received word from the visiting musician's team about the problems.

Shakira was previously scheduled to perform at the Frost Bank Center before that show was also rescheduled.

In April, the guitarist Santana canceled his downtown show at the Majestic shortly before showtime, citing a medical issue that required a brief hospitalization.